Thursday, 30 April 2015

The phrase “emperor’s new clothes” is rolled out all too often in fashion – but this season it could be bang on the money. Because the hottest trend in menswear right now is not about clothing but the lack of it. That’s right, chaps, this season cocks are in – or, perhaps more specifically – out.

In January, at Rick Owens’ Paris fashion week show, penises swung gently down the runway. The designer – who has a made a career out of creating highly expensive leather jackets – sent out several models minus underwear in tunics featuring peepholes, cut to reveal their genitals. Cue a storm of media coverage and the Instagram hashtag: Dick Owens. Meanwhile, last season, photographer Alasdair McLellan shot a Raf Simons/Sterling Ruby collections story for Arena Homme+ featuring two naked images of the model Danny Blake; one was full-frontal nude, the other featured a jumper with nothing on the bottom half. More recently, bi-annual style magazine Man About Town featured the model Michael Morgan nude on its limited edition cover, also shot by McLellan – the limited run of 500 sold out in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in the 10th anniversary issue of Fantastic Man, there was a full-nude shoot featuring men of various ages...

Clinton's campaign has already taken a strong stance on marriage equality. The video in which she announced her candidacy featured a gay Chicago couple who later invited the former secretary of state to their wedding.

Stonewall have often been accused of cosying up to Labour - most notably when Angela Mason backed Frank Dobson, a Labour MP not noted for his support of LGBT equality, in the Mayor Of London election in 2000, over Ken Livingstone, who had been a pioneer and public champion for some 20 years.

After leaving Stonewall in 2002, Mason was made head of the Women And Equality Unit quango by the Labour government, doubling her salary to £80,000. In 2007 she was made Dame Angela Mason.

The photographer who took this shot has clearly decided to use a close crop to focus on the hands of the couple as one places a ring on the other's hands. I think that's a reasonable artistic decision, and I don't think using such a picture as a general illustration of a piece about gay marriage is insulting.

There are plenty of articles linked from these pages, with stories about…

Monday, 27 April 2015

Is Eurovision too gay? Mouths dropped and pearls were clutched on Friday at Bafta headquarters in Piccadilly, which hosted a day-long conference on the impact of the contest attended by academics, aficionados and past performers — including last year’s winner Conchita Wurst.

On the agenda were such weighty matters as “how the Eurovision Song Contest has been used as a platform of expression for diverse communities, to create national and European identities and as a tool for nation branding”.

But the man who raised eyebrows in a genteel kerfuffle was Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator, and a surprising Eurovision devotee. In the UK at least, opined the Scot, the contest had been “reduced to the level of a musical gay pride march. I prefer it in Sweden, where it’s seen more as a family show, an entertainment extravaganza,” he said. Cue mild harrumphing in the hall and one fan suggesting that the term “too gay” smacked of homophobia.

Sensing a miffed audience, Nelson reframed his opinion, saying the camp aspect showed “values of tolerance — and it exports those values in a vivid way to places where they are still to be accepted”...

I've often wondered if the unfeasibly right-wing Mr Nelson was a screaming wotnot, think I've now reached my conclusion.

Update: Fraser says it wasn't him who said it! That was a panel moderator's precis of the 'reduced to the level of a gay pride march. I prefer it in Sweden, where it's seen more as a family show...', presumably. Which seems a reasonable interpretation.

Queen singer Adam Lambert boasted that he's romped with very famous fellas who unfortunately feel they have to hide their sexuality.

The 33-year-old refused to identify his high-profile lovers, but he did say: "I've been with a few of them."

The American Idol graduate blames Tinseltown's macho culture for preventing folk from expressing their true sexuality, suggesting it stops many stars from coming out of the closet publicly through fear it may harm their career.

When quizzed about why they felt the need to disguise their sexual preferences, he told Glamour magazine: "Whether it's music or acting, you've got to remember that those industries are primarily run by men, so maybe it's about that."

Before truthfully adding: "But with women being the primary moviegoers and record-buyers, surely it shouldn't matter so much?"

Roll up, roll up and read all about this week's star-studded Big Issue - guest edited by Owen Jones

With the general election bringing claim and counter-claim we wanted someone to navigate us through these confusing times. So we asked Owen Jones if he wanted to take control of The Big Issue and lasso some names who could offer new perspectives in the final days before polling.

Among those featured is revolutionary popinjayRussell Brand who disentangles his thoughts on politics and reveals whether he would run for office himself. Actor Michael Sheen offers his own prescription for saving the NHS. Queen legend Brian May talks about his journey from pop to politics by way of badgers. Brit-award winner Paloma Faith calls for more social responsibility, pub landlord Al Murray explains why he is standing against Nigel Farage in South Thanet...

Who says online petitions are just silly exercises in vanity that have no effect?

I hope this small technicality won't stop Saint Peter taking full credit for this via his superpowers.

For the record, Fagburn doesn't agree with pressurising politicians to resign just cause they have obnoxious opinions, never mind calling in the cops.

PS The publicity-shy Tatchell seems to be suggesting he was the only person who confronted Katie Hopkins at the British LGBT Awards. He wasn't he was the only person who made sure there was a photographer on hand, told the gay media about it, and tweeted about his fearless act.

There’s something about Thornbury Road that really sucks you in,” Sophie Broadbent tells me, smiling. Her partner, Jamie Lancaster, nods in agreement, “I don’t think we realised how interesting it was until we started meeting our neighbours,” he adds. Two years ago, toddlers in tow, the couple embarked on a project to photograph as many of their neighbours as possible. The result is the Thornbury Road portraits: 30 intimate, joyful portraits of local residents...

Each portrait took a couple of hours for Jamie – a photographer since school and a professional director – to set up. And it was not always easy. Trying to cram lights, camera equipment and himself into a small bathroom to photograph Seany O’Kane, a former Big Brother contestant, and his five-year-old son Kuziva-Aodhán, was a challenge. Seany, from Northern Ireland, works for a London charity that supports young fathers, and is gay. He co-parents Kuziva with his son’s two mothers, a couple who live in Manchester...

What did Ed Miliband’s kitchen say to him, I wonder? “Oh, kitchens are so common, aren’t they? And people who bang on about kitchens are common,” he says dismissively. Bathrooms are much more revealing, he thinks. “Dickie Avedon [the American photographer] once said to me, if you want to decorate for someone properly, you should go to the bathroom and find out what pills they take, if they’re on uppers or downers or what.”

Haslam may be unenthusiastic about Miliband’s kitchen but he loves the man himself. “He looks like a Velázquez. An extraordinary face. He’s really rather beautiful. I met him the other day and I said, ‘You may have read, Mr Miliband, that I think you’re wonderful-looking.’ And he said, ‘Have you met my wife?’” He chuckles throatily. “I thought that was quite funny.” What about David Cameron? “Great fat lump!” he declares. “I’m very fond of David but he looks like anybody really, doesn’t he?”

Und! Are straight men in drag offensive to women? An NUS Women’s Conference recently called for a ban on cross-dressing 'as a mode of fancy dress'. Martin Daubney defends a man's right to wear a frock A spirited defence in the Telegraph by an ex-editor of Loaded.

Thursday, 23 April 2015

TOTNES’ plans for Europe’s first permanent rainbow road crossing could be shelved after fears were raised that it could cause dementia sufferers to have hallucinations.

The group Proud2Be has been working on establishing a permanent rainbow crossing in Totnes following the success of the temporary one it set up in the High Street for the town’s gay pride event last year.

Now the group, and town councillors who had been asked to support the plan for the crossing across The Plains, have been warned by someone who works with elderly people that the brightly-coloured crossing could have a serious health impact on people with Alzheimer’s.

Councillors have advised Proud2Be to seek further medical advice from experts...

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

For me, it was a late-night showing of The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert on VH1, hosted at commercial breaks by RuPaul. I was 15, shy and growing up in a small Connecticut town; this was the first time I had ever seen queer men together, rather than popping up as villains or punch lines. "Is this what it's like to have gay friends?" I thought.

Priscilla gave me the confidence to come out, and to start wearing some insanely garish bright yellow and purple outfits. Hey, if it worked for Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette, I figured I'd have to do the same. And it worked! Before I knew it, I was dating a boy with similarly gaudy taste, and getting up to no good on the bench seat of his pickup truck.

Years later, I mentioned that memory to a friend over drinks at The Eagle in Seattle. He responded by telling me how important he found Christopher Isherwood, the gay novelist who chronicled the sexual underworld of Berlin in the 1930s. Another friend stopped by and confessed that Looking had changed the way he dated; someone else mentioned longing for a protective figure like Lucille Ball in Mame; and, soon, we were all remembering where we were on December 3, 2000, when Queer as Folk showed the world what real gay sex looks like.

What's the entertainment that made you who you are today?

That Eagle conversation left me wanting to find more of the formative media that shaped gay men's lives. I've never read any Isherwood, and haven't seen Mame. What else have I been missing?

Throughout the interviews, a few pieces of entertainment kept recurring. I've rounded them up here, but there's a lot more culture that belongs on this list! I'll keep adding more and more as the show goes on -- you can subscribe at SewersOfParis.com to hear what we discover about next.

And please do let me know what I should add to this list. I'm always eager to discover more. You can tweet at me @mattbaume.

Labour luvvie Sir Ian McKellen is the highest-profile celebrity so far to come out for Ed Miliband.

The Oscar-nominated actor yesterday said he was impressed by the party's manifesto for lesbian, gay and transgender people.

I wonder what he makes of Miliband's pledge to eradicate tax avoidance?

McKellen, like many artistes, is sole director of his own company, Kirikiri, through which he channels his earnings.

Last year, the company had assets of £8.3 million, boosted by income from reprising his role as the wizard Gandalf the Grey in the Hobbit film trilogy.

Companies are tax efficient as they are subject to corporation tax of 20 per cent, rather than a top rate of income tax of 45 per cent on annual incomes of more than £150,000. Expenses incurred in the line of duty can be offset against profits.

Last year, McKellen — perfectly legally — took out a loan from his own company of £1.7 million.

One tax expert says: 'In the case of a loan to a director — provided a certain minimum rate of interest specified by HMRC is charged — the borrowing is not liable for tax. Such a measure is perfectly legal, but it allows those who take advantage of the mechanism to delay when they pay tax on income earned through their company — potentially indefinitely.' ...

None of the science dedicated to finding a gay gene holds water, so why not make a positive choice to reject heterosexuality and decide to switch sides? Julie Bindel explains why she believes she chose her sexuality, rather than it having chosen her. But, she asks, have we returned to the essentialist notion that we are either 'born that way' or that we are unthinkingly heterosexual?

A Guardian investigation found about a third of the contributions made by this user were to Shapps’ own Wikipedia entry while the rest are made up largely of unflattering changes to the online pages to senior political figures – including prominent figures in the Tory party such as Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, Justine Greening, the international development secretary, and Lynton Crosby, Conservative election campaign strategist.

Wikipedia says that “sock-puppetry” – creating a fake online identity “for an improper purpose, such as to mislead other editors, disrupt discussions, distort consensus or avoid sanctions” – is not permitted.

It added that it had banned Contribsx and said any evidence of future attempts to cover the user’s tracks would be investigated immediately.

The site’s administrators, selected Wikipedia volunteers who patrol the site, told the Guardian that they “believe that the account Contribsx is a sockpuppet of Grant Shapps’ previous accounts on Wikipedia ... and based on the evidence the account is either run by Shapps directly or being run by someone else – an assistant or a PR agency – but under his clear direction.”

When the Guardian first approached Shapps saying that Wikipedia would be closing down this user account because Wikipedia said it was linked to him, a spokesman for the Conservative party said: “This story is completely false and defamatory. It is nonsense from start to finish.”

When Shapps was sent a detailed exposition of the changes made by Contribsx – including posts critical of cabinet colleagues such as George Osborne – the Tory chairman did not respond.

Later, on Tuesday night, he said it was “categorically false and defamatory”.

“It is untrue from start to finish, and was quite likely dreamt up by the Labour press office. Sadly it is typical of the smears coming from those who would rather not debate policy and substance,” Shapps said...

Some of the posts made by Contribsx, which was created in the summer of 2013, illuminate Conservative divisions, focusing notably on one of the biggest rebellions in the last parliament over the issue of gay marriage – a policy that remains controversial, with traditionalists targeting liberal Tories in this election.

The rancour began after May 2013 when 134 Tory MPs voted against the government, arguing the idea would weaken the institution of marriage. Shapps was one of the MPs that had supported the leadership line that the country was ready for the change.

Monday, 20 April 2015

Russia is the largest country on earth and home to nearly 150 million people. Vladimir Putin is well into his third term as president and with the West imposing tough sanctions, relations are now the frostiest since the Cold War.

Reggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia. By living with them for a week, he explores what it's like for young people living here, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. A year after the introduction of the controversial anti-propaganda law, Reggie finds out what life is really like for young people in what has been described as the hardest place in Europe to be gay. He travels to St Petersburg for Queerfest, a 10-day arts and culture get-together for the LGBT community. Reggie spends time on both sides of the battle lines - with the Queefest team as they face the daily fight to keep their festival open, and the homophobes who want to see it closed.

...

On the other side, Reggie meets leaders of Orthodox pressure groups like God's Will, who would stone gays to death if the law allowed it, and Vitali Milonov, the architect of the anti-gay propaganda law. Reggie ends up in a sauna, being beaten with twigs by a naked man, in a bid to understand what it means to be not just Russian in this post-Soviet era, but what it means to be a Russian man.

“If someone called me fat, that affects me way more than someone calling me a faggot. I think just because I’ve accepted that, if someone calls me a faggot, it’s like, I am gay and I’m proud to be gay so there’s no issues there. But if someone calls you fat, that’s something I want to change.”